We just installed an Avalon Olympic in the basement to reduce need for primary heat source (electric) and for back-up in event of a blackout. The stove is a monster and seems to eat wood like crazy. The house is 2400 square feet and basically well insulated, it hasn't been very cold yet and we have only used the stove 24/7 for about a week( w/o any real use of electric heat), but I have already put a small dent in the wood pile. I got about a cord and a half dropped off about a month ago for $200 bucks, and it seems good and seasoned. My question is, ' is that enough or how much more should we get?'. We don't have a lot of space to have it waiting until next winter. Should I get more now? Wait until I might run out mid winter? I understand that too much is just enough but how much is that? First time poster, longtime reader.....
I've got wood! But is it enough?
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We got 4 cords for the winter, figuring we'd use at least 3. With the wood being a bit wet, we'll either A) use more, or B) cover it, let it season, and burn Something Else (i.e. BioBricks or Enviro-Logs) this year... I think 1.5c is probably too little for a northeastern winter.
From what I have read on here, most people use 3 - 5 cord using a woodburning appliance as primary/major supplementary heat. With 2400 sq ft and 24/7 burning, I can promise you 1.5 cord will not be enough.
Somewhere on here I read a cord a month as a decent rule of thumb when 24/7 burning give or take weather, house insulation, etc. I know i went through over 3 last year and that was in more moderate SE PA. I would definitely get more now - especially since there's many a horror story on here about truly seasoned wood being unavailable come the middle of winter. Bottom line, is that 1.5 cords won't cut it if you plan to 24/7. That's not even addressing your "eats wood like crazy" comment. It shouldn't - unless you're burning at full bore which is inefficient.
You need more wood if you want to heat 24/7. If you can't get more, then save what you have for the coldest days to get the most bang for your buck- yes, I know how difficult that is!
Well I am in kind of a unique situation, I have a logger/timber/firewood whole-seller less than a 1/2 a mile from my house. Yes, I live 50 miles north of Grand Central Station. The guy does 'retail sales' on the side. I am just trying to guage how much I should have on hand to last thru the winter without having piles on the yard till next winter. My use of the stove 24/7 thus far has been more of a test of the stove than an over all need for btu's. I guess if I double down and have 3 cords on hand I should be in good shape.
fishguy said:
I have four cords of seasoned wood. I'm guessing that will be enough. With the way my house is set up I will need to install another stove to truly get whole house heating from wood, but the stove I have will be going 24/7 to strongly limit oil use this year.
I plan on buying wood this April to begin a decent stock pile for future years
Burning in 2 stoves, softwood = ~7 cords to get through the season here in the high desert of central Oregon. Probably not a useful yardstick in your neck o' the woods or your situation...just another opportunity to whine. Rick
fossil said:
I was figuring 6 cords if I put in the second stove. The second one would be used in the evening, at night, and for company to keep the whole house warm.
Depending on when I buy 6-7 cords of wood will cost me about $1100 a year in wood (not including cheap finds, free wood, etc) compared to 3-4 grand in oil...and it would still be chilly in the house.
I use 1.5 -2 in the mild Pacific Northwest, not burning 24/7, but frequently. Friends here go through 3-5 with wood as their only heat, burning mixed soft and hardwoods. I'd say you'll need more.
As this is my first year with my Quad 4300, I'm 'guessing' I'll use 5'ish cords. 50 yr old, 1800 sqf, rancher with a basement & no insulation. I'll let you know in the spring.
My brother in western PA heats a 3500sqf house with a quad 5700 and says he uses about 12 cords a year.
My brother in western PA heats a 3500sqf house with a quad 5700 and says he uses about 12 cords a year.
I have been averaging about 4.5 cords in my Olympic burning 24/7 from approx. Nov. 1 to March/April - and I am right across the border from you. It is going to depend on how much you burn.
Keep in mind that you will use less wood if you are using a very hard wood, like oak. I like to have a nice mix around so I use the lighter stuff to get the temp up quickly and the denser stuff for longer burns.
Keep in mind that you will use less wood if you are using a very hard wood, like oak. I like to have a nice mix around so I use the lighter stuff to get the temp up quickly and the denser stuff for longer burns.
I did a search on my natural-gas providers website, looking at how many "therms" and how much money I spent month by month over the past couple years. I just installed my first wood-burning insert this month, and I'm in much the same position as you, i.e. my home is in Northern Illinois, 2400 sq. ft, I have no illusion the wood will be my only source of heat, I want it for emergency back up and to feel more "independent", and to lower my natural gas bills.....
Anyway, the search I did had one interesting result; over the past 3 years, I used 1/3 my entire winter's natural gas (roughly October-May) during the Jan 15-Feb 15 billing cycle. We may THINK "a cord a month", but in Illinois the truth is "little bit, little bit, little bit, WHAM!, little bit, little bit.
If you are already making a dent in your woodpile during October/ November, you surely don't have enough wood. The heat requirement in my home during Jan 15 - Feb 15 is SIX TIMES what it is in October 15-Nov 15. Imagine what that one 30 day period will do to your woodpile.
Scrounging for more.....
Mike
Anyway, the search I did had one interesting result; over the past 3 years, I used 1/3 my entire winter's natural gas (roughly October-May) during the Jan 15-Feb 15 billing cycle. We may THINK "a cord a month", but in Illinois the truth is "little bit, little bit, little bit, WHAM!, little bit, little bit.
If you are already making a dent in your woodpile during October/ November, you surely don't have enough wood. The heat requirement in my home during Jan 15 - Feb 15 is SIX TIMES what it is in October 15-Nov 15. Imagine what that one 30 day period will do to your woodpile.
Scrounging for more.....
Mike
10 year old 2000 sq ft 1-1/2 storey, R21 walls, R40 cathedral ceilings, 4 ft heated crawlspace, I burn somewhere around 5 - 6 cord just supplementing central gas heat. The stove only goes 24/7 when it gets cold enough.
We also have the combination of wood heat with electric baseboards, which are on an "off-peak" system with local utility. We go through 3 cords of good seasoned oak pretty easily in a season burning almost 24/7.
I'm guessing our winter weather is similar to yours, so I'd say you should get some more wood.
It's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it!
charlesd
I'm guessing our winter weather is similar to yours, so I'd say you should get some more wood.
It's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it!
charlesd
Well, how many cubic feet do you think you used this week. We have about 5.5 months of winter left. Figure 22 weeks. This week has been pretty warm. The coming weather will be much colder. You had better plan to burn heavy and stock up extra wood. I would order enough for 30 weeks. This may sound excessive, but you don't know the specis or quality of wood you will be getting. We also don't know if this winter will be brutal or not. It may be getting a slow start.
Matt
Matt
I'm thinking 31/2 cord should be OK if its not a cold winter. I use about 8 CF of wood on a cold day and 3 CF of wood when its in the mid 3os. When the temps drop to 12 o I have to crank up the stove. I would get 2 more cord of wood. Its better to have some wood left over and ready to burn.
Iwould say five cord is a good estimate for average winter in northeast, mid-atlantic. This assumes average size house, average insulation, and not living on the border of Maine/Canada @ 5000 ft elevation :smirk:
When I bought my first home 15 years ago, I installed an RSF Onyx but the only firewood I had was what the builder bulldozed to clear the building site.
They say it's an ill wind that doesn't blow someone some good. I had a friend that had a chimney fire and the fire inspector condemned his installation so he decided not to burn wood any longer. He not only gave me his three cords of well seasoned wood for free but he even helped me load and haul it. Between that three cord and the dead stuff I culled out of the bulldozed pile, I was set for the winter.
Only thing was that my stove could only take a 22 inch log and had to cut 2 inches off of every stick. It pained me to lose so much wood to the wide chainsaw kerf so I got my kids to do it with a Sawzall. Safer for a kid to operate and less sawdust waste.
They say it's an ill wind that doesn't blow someone some good. I had a friend that had a chimney fire and the fire inspector condemned his installation so he decided not to burn wood any longer. He not only gave me his three cords of well seasoned wood for free but he even helped me load and haul it. Between that three cord and the dead stuff I culled out of the bulldozed pile, I was set for the winter.
Only thing was that my stove could only take a 22 inch log and had to cut 2 inches off of every stick. It pained me to lose so much wood to the wide chainsaw kerf so I got my kids to do it with a Sawzall. Safer for a kid to operate and less sawdust waste.
North east ct 2200 sq ft ranch well insulated and a Jotul Oslo burn 24/7 when cold and I use 8-10 chords. Thats seasoned oak. Some people "say" they burn 24/7 but realistically most people load the stove for the night, cut the air back then reload in the morning. I reload twice a night(weak bladder get up anyway.)
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